Gabino Cintra by Pedro Castello Branco

Gabino Cintra: Companion and friend of Lafayette Street Advisor well before we start playing bridge. From the time before we entered College we played card games and we knew almost everyone.

Gabino once invented a game called “Marina”, the name of his grandmother, where we played all the “KING” hands in two rounds, doing nothing and doing everything. It was a way to escape the vigilance of his grandmother … Bridge? We did not know what it was!

By the way, if Gabino had not brought to my parents house one Goren’s graphics: “I think the Bridge of Brazil would have not produced the brilliant results that no one could have imagined that one day could be possible.”

Indeed, at least for three of us: Gabino, and the two Branco, the young and the old; never have gone through the Bridge Club door. And look, Gabino had to insist us to play, we always said: “That game is boring,” Gabino not bother “lets go to play poker, the King, or O’Hell.

Had it been so, he would have been a great champion THE SAME!.

Gabino won everything you could win, all the championships of: Rio de Janiero, the Brazilians, the trials for the National Team, South American and World Championships.

I had the very pleasant opportunity to share with him, both as his partner, as well as members of the same team, living with him the joy of many victories and some sad defeats.

Campeonato Sudamericano 1972

I’ll never forget his version of ‘Samba of the Blessing “where he said:

“The blessing Pedro Castello Brancopartner and dear friendthat has traveled with me playing so many matchesAnd yet there are so many to travel “

Anyway, the nostalgia is huge and if he were still with us we would be fighting for another world title, the Senior title.

Pedro Castello Branco

Cintra Lia said:

The story of Pedro Castello Branco tells us about the “Samba da Bênção”, music by Vinicius de Moraes, well known in Brazil and that was very successful in the early 70s.

Vinicius makes a tribute to all the Brazilian samba. And Gabino got the idea to do a tribute to all his brazilian friends and bridge players that at that time were winning all the championships, the Italian Blue Team.